


Sleeping

by notjustmom



Series: Pepperony Week 2019 [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, a bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 04:27:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20109133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: Five times when Tony made sure Pepper slept, and once when no one slept.





	1. First Time: 2003

**Author's Note:**

> Combining the first two days of Pepperony Week: a 5+1 of Pepperony sharing a bed, using the following quote as prompt:
> 
> “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”  
― Rumi

The first time they shared a bed was long before Iron Man, before Afghanistan, and completely not her fault. It was on a business trip, the hotel where they usually had the penthouse suite reserved for whenever they needed it was booked up for a convention. 

A clown convention, of all things.

Pepper was relieved that Tony was still in the car, as he had not a fear, exactly, just an intense dislike, well, to be honest, an utter loathing for anything clown-like. She was sure it had something to do with a birthday when he was a child, but she knew not to ask.

But that’s besides the point. The only place they could find at short notice was a tiny cheap motel with one last room on the outskirts of town, with one queen sized bed. Pepper was beyond exhausted and as she handed the manager her credit card, she shot a glance at Tony waiting in the car, about to fall asleep at the wheel. She knew he would be awful tomorrow, and he would spend the night grumbling about the trip, and muttering about why Obie couldn’t do this stuff, and there were things he needed to do at home in the workshop, but she took the offered pen and signed the receipt, then headed back to the car.

“Sorry,” she said as she dropped onto the foot of the bed. Usually she would take the time to unpack and hang things up, but instead she pulled off her shoes and tossed them across the room, then took off her jacket and let it fall to the floor and toppled backwards into the bed, and immediately fell asleep. Tony chuckled to himself, and carefully moved her onto the pillow and covered her with the ugliest bed cover he had ever seen in his life, then pulled his laptop from his bag, and worked until dawn.

Pepper groaned as the alarm on her watch went off, and she opened her eyes to find Tony grinning at her, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a bag in the other. “Coffee, cream, two sugars, and croissants, fresh from the oven. There’s a place just down the street. Needed to stretch my legs, so I went for a walk. Shower looks like it works, we have plenty of time before the meeting -” His words came to a halt as she laid a hand on his jawline and kissed his forehead.

“What was that for?” He asked quietly.

“For being sweet and letting me sleep.”

She watched in surprise as he laid the coffee and bag on the table, then cleared his throat, as if embarrassed. “I’m not sweet. I just appreciate you, and I know I don’t say it as often as I should, no, I know I never - I just - thank you, Ms. Potts.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Stark.”


	2. Second Time: 2006

She was always there. Always. She always answered her phone. But not this morning. 

“Damn. JARVIS, locate Ms. Potts’ phone.”

“On her desk, sir.”

“Hell.” He knew she had sounded a bit off as she had said her goodnight to him the night before, but he hadn’t thought too much about it. She never left her phone at work. She was far too organized to forget her phone. He sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept, she could have told him, she always knew everything. “If anyone needs me -”

“You are unavailable, sir?”

“Right.”

“Keys are in your jacket pocket, sir.”

Tony grabbed his jacket and pulled his keys from his pocket.

“Thank you, JARVIS.”

“Anytime, sir.”

He drove just under the speed limit for once, and still made it to Pepper’s place in under ten minutes. He thought about ringing the doorbell, but remembered that she kept a key under her flowerpot, she had told him once - just in case she had said, on one of the rare nights when she had agreed to have dinner with him, and she’d had a couple of beers. He found the key, unlocked the door and called out her name as he entered her small but extremely tidy home. “Pepper?”

He laid his keys on the kitchen counter and saw her purse on the table, her shoes had been taken off in a rush, one strap had broken and a heel had snapped off. “Pepper?” He knocked on the bedroom door and saw the sheets were tangled, but no Pepper. “Pepper?” He heard a small noise from the bathroom and pushed open the door carefully. “Pep?”

“Tony?” She looked up at him and shook her head. “What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t show up at work this morning, and you left your phone on your desk last night.”

“Sorry. Stomach bug. You shouldn’t be here - I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Don’t be silly. You should be in bed.” He walked over to her and helped her to her feet. “Hey, I can’t even remember how many times you’ve helped me -”

“Fifteen times,” she whispered but didn’t fight as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom.

“Yeah, you could probably tell me the dates and -” He settled her in the chair and stripped her bed, then found clean sheets and remade the bed for her. “Come on, Pep. Get back in bed, I’m going to find you a bucket, and then I’m going to get you some Gatorade and crackers -”

Pepper grumbled under her breath, and rolled her eyes, but climbed into bed as instructed. He returned with the bucket and placed it on the floor, then gently brushed the hair from her face. “I’ll be right back. Promise.”

She shook her head and reached for his hand. “Stay, please.”

“Pep.”

“Tony. Please?”

He nodded and untied his high tops, and took them off, then walked to the other side of the bed and paused. “I can sit in the chair -”

She looked up at him and he shrugged, then silently slipped into the bed and sighed as she rolled over and rested her head against his shoulder and placed her hand on his chest. “Thanks for coming to find me,” she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

“Always, Pep. I’ll always find you.”


	3. Third Time - 2008

Tony took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, then looked up as Pepper put a mug of coffee on his desk. He realized he hadn’t really looked at her since he’d arrived home two weeks earlier. She was still just as beautiful as she’d always been, but the concealer wasn’t quite doing its job, as he could see tell-tale dark circles under her eyes. 

“Pepper.”

“Hmm?” He watched as she tried to avoid his eyes and caught her hand before she turned away.

“When was the last time you slept?”

She blinked at him and shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been - we’ve been busy.”

“Pep. You know you can’t lie to me.”

She finally lifted her blue eyes to meet his gaze and breathed out a sigh of relief. “Since you’ve been home. Before, while you were gone, I’d come to work, then go home and walk until I couldn’t walk anymore, and then I’d turn around and go home to bed. I don’t know how, but I could fall asleep, I knew you were alive somehow, I mean, I knew - I would have known if you weren’t. And now -”

“Now?”

“I worry. I worry all night that I’ll come down here in the morning and -”

“Pep. We’re going to tell Happy we are not to be disturbed for three hours. Then we are going to turn off the phones, and we’re going to go upstairs and take a nap.”

“You too?”

He rolled his eyes, but mumbled to the room, “JARVIS?”

“Sir?”

“I’m going upstairs for three hours, we are not to be disturbed. I’m sure there’s some busy work you can do without me?”

“Of course, sir. Sleep well, sir.”

Tony got up from his chair, and offered Pepper his arm, then led her to the elevator, and pressed the button for the bedroom. “Sorry, Pep.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I'm sorry for worrying you.”

The elevator doors opened and they stepped into the bedroom. Tony sat Pepper down on the edge of the bed, then gingerly got to his knees and removed her shoes. She rolled her eyes at him when she could tell he was too exhausted to stand back up again, and she stood up and carefully helped him to his feet, then helped him to sit on the side of the bed and took off his shoes. “Bed.”

“Bed.” She watched as he laid flat on his back, and closed his eyes. She walked to the other side of the king-sized bed and all but fell into it. As she closed her eyes, she felt his fingers hold tightly onto hers, and heard him whisper, “I’ll be here when you wake up, Pep. I promise.”

And he was.


	4. Fourth Time - 2012

Tony sighed as he opened the door to Stark Tower, and before he could ask where Pepper was, JARVIS pronounced in a hushed tone, "she's in bed asleep, sir. She tried to stay awake as long as she could, but she was watching the news..."

"Damn. JARVIS."

"Sir?"

"Never mind. At least I don't have to tell her something she doesn't already know."

"Yes, sir."

Tony took the bracelets off and the remains of the suit fell away into a heap. "Have to rework that idea... night, JARVIS."

"Good night, sir."

Tony slowly eased his way down the stairs to their bedroom, relieved that they had their living quarters far from any of the damage the building had taken that day, then stopped short as he saw Pepper curled up in a ball on their bed, she had obviously been crying. Her eyes were still puffy, and crumpled tissues were scattered over the floor. Damn. Someday. One day he would be able to stop. He just couldn't tell her when, especially not after what he had seen today.

Gingerly, he removed his shoes, and after a moment gave up trying to undress, then tried to climb into bed without waking her up, but as soon as he stretched out, she laid a trembling hand on his wrist, and growled out, "don't you ever, ever do that to me again. What were you thinking? Don't you know -"

He kissed her cheek and tucked himself around her. As she slowly drifted back to sleep in his arms, he knew exactly why he had flown the nuke through the wormhole, so she would be safe. He realized at that moment that all that mattered to him was keeping her safe. The universe be damned. "I love you too, Pep. Love you too."

"I know, idiot."


	5. Fifth Time - 2016

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Siberia...

She had been gone for four months now, four months, two weeks and - he stumbled up the short flight of steps, exhausted and his ribs were still healing, from the pounding they had taken three and a half weeks earlier. The bruises on his face were a nice greenish-yellow, but in a day or two, they would be gone, finally, though he'd have a nice new scar - courtesy of...

"Pep?"

"Tony. Damn it." She got up from the bedroom chair and slowly walked over to him, then stopped short, unsure she was wanted.

"Why are you here?" He asked quietly, no trace of anger in his voice, just confusion, she thought.

"Rhodey. Rhodey and Happy. And JAR - I mean, FRIDAY. They all said - " She started moving closer to him again, then paused as she saw the look in his eyes.

"You look good, Pep. I like the haircut."

She lifted her hands and placed them carefully on his face. "I'm so sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong. If I were you -"

"If you were me, you would have stayed, wouldn't you?"

"Pepper, that doesn't even make any sense."

"You know what I mean."

He nodded, then cautiously leaned into her left hand and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I know."

"I missed you the minute I closed the door, but I didn't know how to turn around. But I didn't come back because you need me."

"I don't need you, Pepper."

"No?"

"I love you. That's all. I finally found my Social Security number, and I figured out how to pay the bills, nice record keeping by the way, and I had some time to learn how to make more than omelets, so I don't really need you. If you want to stay - I mean, I want you to stay, and to be honest, I don't care why. I'm just happy to see you..."

"I haven't slept well without you," she admitted quietly into his chest. "And I love you, and I'm sorry."

His arms folded automatically around her and he breathed in the scent of her shampoo. "Still smell the same," he muttered to himself. "Still the same."

She snorted into his chest and whispered, "do you mind if we just -"

"Go to bed? Yeah, I think that could be arranged, Ms. Potts."

She drew back from slightly and met the dark eyes she had missed. "Is it really this easy? I know -"

"Yeah, it is. We can talk later if you need to, we can talk all day tomorrow if you need to. Right now, though..." His voice drifted off as she lightly kissed the fading bruises, then carefully lifted the shirt over his head, and swore under his breath as she ran her fingers over the newest scars. She slipped off her shoes and gently helped him into bed then curled up next to him and fell asleep.


	6. 2024

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and one of the many times when no one slept...

"Daddy."

"Yes, Morguna?"

"I'm hungry."

Tony looked down at his daughter and yawned. "Pep?"

"I made pancakes yesterday."

"Can't Peter make breakfast today?"

Morgan shrugged.

Tony sighed and pulled Morgan into their bed and watched as she snuggled into the space between him and Pepper. "You're not really hungry are you?"

"Uh-uh." She shook her head at him and blinked into his eyes. "Bad dream."

"Which one?"

"New one."

"Tell me."

"Nuh-uh. Might scare you too. I don't want you to have bad dreams." 

Tony leaned closer to her and kissed her nose. "Could it have anything to do with today being your first day of First Grade?"

She shook her head and whispered, "maybe kinda sorta?"

"First grade will be amazing."

"Will you walk me to school?"

"Of course."

"You're the best daddy in the whole universe, Daddy."

"I try. Come on, Pep. First day of school, let's go." Pepper threw her pillow at his head. "Love you."

"Love you, more."

"Ewwwwwww... you guys." Morgan rolled out of the bed and headed for the kitchen.

"Love you, 3000, Ms. Potts." He grinned down at her and kissed her nose.

"3000 + 1, Mr. Stark." 

"Show off."


End file.
